Gotta Let Him Go
by Song Of Hope
Summary: Hope is still despairing over the loss of Isi Kiyoyama that was over four years ago. What happens when he visits her and asks her to let him go? IMPORTANT CHALLENGE INFORMATION INSIDE AS WELL!


**Song Of Hope: This is my way of saying. I HAVEN'T ABANDONED THE FANDOM! Another way to show how the hell Hope and Kyoya managed to hook up.**

**My contest ended already. It's closed forever, and there's no chance that you can enter. But, if you PM me today, with the intentions of entering my challenge, and a reasonable time to put the story up, then I'll accept that. I tried to put this up last Saturday, but too many things got in the way, so it's going up today.**

**And now, for the world premiere of the official (not really, but just one of the ways my head concocted it) hooking up of Kyoya Tategami and Hope Song! R&R**

Hope sat on her bed, her knees up, with a silver picture frame on her lap. Se stared at a picture of a boy, about 14, with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, wearing black-framed glasses, and wearing the kindest smile that anyone could ever have on his. Her eyes were full of tears as she stared at the picture.

"Isi." She closed her eyes, bowed her head down, and brought the picture framed up just enough for the top to touch her forehead. "Why?! Why did you have to go Isi?! Why couldn't you have survived?! Why did Choko and Hanako survive, but not you?! Why did _Kami-sama_ take you away from me?! And why did you let him?! Didn't you know you were leaving me behind?!" She fell to her right side, bringing her knees up close to her center and bringing the picture to her chest. She looked depressed, and almost without any energy. Tears streamed over her face. "Why? Just tell me why…" Tired, she fell asleep, clutching the picture of her first love tightly, even in her sleep.

**In Her Dreams**

Hope opened her eyes to be in a gray hallway with many pictures on the walls, mostly of four people, but some of single people. There was one picture that stuck out to her especially. It was of a very happy twelve-year-old girl with long, brown hair, and shining hazel eyes, full of happiness as she sat next to a boy with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, with a kind smile on his face, and a cup of fruit punch in his hand, holding it out to her. Her eyes filled with more tears as she realized who was in the picture.

"Isi and me." She pounded on the open space in between that picture and another. "Why couldn't it have always been that way?!" Her head hung as tears fell down her face.

"Because it simply wasn't meant to be." Her eyes widened as she turned to the person who was speaking. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to him.

"Isi." He smiled at her, that same kind smile he always had .The only difference is that he didn't look like a fourteen-year-old boy. He looked like a strong eighteen-year-old man.

"Miss me?" She took a step back in disbelief, her eyes full of tears from the trick her mind was playing on her.

"You can't be real. You died four years ago." He nodded, looking a bit upset.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I? I really wish I hadn't, because I didn't want to leave you behind, but at the same time, it was the best day of my life, because Heaven with God and Jesus is so wonderful. The only regret I have left is leaving you behind, but more than that, that my leaving you has kept you from moving on." She smiled, wiping away her tears.

"Only you would say something like that, even if you didn't mean it. You're too kind for your own good." He smiled at her.

"You know where we are, right?" She nodded, looking at the picture of the two of them together. He walked over and stood behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"We're at your house, before you died. After you did, your parents couldn't bare staying here, with Choko having left already, and with you dying, the house felt too empty, even with little Hanako coming over for a visit every now and then, so they left, without a good-bye to me." He rubbed her shoulder in a caring way.

"Hanako, huh? So my sister's baby was a girl?" Hope nodded.

"She was a beautiful baby girl, perfectly healthy, even though she was born early." He raised an eyebrow.

"Early?" Hope nodded, looking at him.

"The accident caused Choko to go into an early labor. If you could see the fact that I hadn't let go of you yet, wouldn't you have seen that too?" He shook his head.

"I only looked at you. I knew Choko would move on. She had her husband, and apparently Hanako. I thought you'd move on too. You had Jamie, and Madoka, but you never did. Why?" She turned to him, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I promised on your grave that I'd never love anyone else. I know, it's the stupid promise of a twelve-year-old girl, but I took it seriously. I still do." Her hand was over her heart. "You were the only one who was kind to me. Everyone else made fun of me. They called me a nerd and said I was ugly just because I was a ten-year-old in 6th grade, and almost everybody was turning twelve soon, and I was barely ten. It was different in America, but in Japan, you're almost two years older than the American system." He nodded.

"I remember. When I was in 7th grade, I was fourteen, and you were only twelve. But, because of where you were in school, you were in my grade, and everybody made fun of you." She nodded sadly, looking at the picture.

"It was mainly because I wasn't Japanese. Those first few days of school, I thought all Japanese people were horrible, until you came to my rescue one day." He nodded, smiling from the memory.

"I had just recovered from a cold, and I was so upset to see that the first things that happened when I got back was that kids in my grade were picking on a new student." He laughed to himself. "But other than that, I thought 'what a small twelve-year-old' to myself." She laughed.

"And then I said _Arigatou! Hajimemashite! Hopu desu! Yoroshiku onegai shimau_*!" He laughed.

"I remember. I was so confused, but then I realized you were American." Hope nodded, smiling.

"So many good memories." Isi nodded, looking sad.

"And now you have to let them go." Her face filled with shock as she turned to face him.

"Let them go?" He nodded.

"And you have to let me go. You didn't even notice yourself, but you're crushing my hand." She looked down in surprise as she realized that she had his hand. "You won't let go of even my hand, let alone me, but you have to!" She shook her head.

"No! Even if it's only in my dreams, now that you're back, I'm not letting you go ever again!" He sighed.

"We only have tonight. The only reason why God let me visit you is because I couldn't rest peacefully in Heaven until I knew you were happy, but you're not happy. You've become angry, and somewhat hateful. But, if you let me go, if you find another love, then you'll truly be happy, at least until you come to Heaven and see me again!" she shook her head.

"If I'm going to see you again in Heaven, then why should I let you go." He smiled sadly.

"Because, I'm not your true love. Your true love is someone else. You only think it's me, but it's not. I thought it was me too, and I thought you were my true love, but God has told me otherwise. Your true love is someone you think you hate." She raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you're gonna have to be more specific than that. There are a lot of people I'm pretty sure I hate. I know it's not the Christian thing to do, but I really can't help it." Her face showed determination not to let him go. "And, besides that, I know that I don't love anyone the way that I love you." He gave her a hug from behind.

"I wish that were true, but you really love someone else. Once, I thought we were meant to be, but if that's the case, and it's causing you so much pain, then I wish we weren't. I hate seeing you hurting so much. And, if you loving someone other than me will take away that pain, then it'll make me happier than you still loving me and being in pain." Her eyes were full of disbelief as she turned and faced him.

"Really? Would that really make you happy?" He nodded.

"Yeah, it would." She looked away from him and at the ground.

"But it wouldn't make me happy, not at all." He sighed.

"How long will it take for me to convince you to let me go? God said I only had one chance to help you let me go, and that's tonight." Her eyes teared up again.

"But I don't want to let you go!" She got out of his arm, still holding his hand, and looked at him, glaring. "That's the problem! I can't let you go! I can't! What would I have let if I let you go?!" He smiled.

"Kibō*." She gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean 'kibō'?" He gave her a good-natured smile.

"You don't have any left. You used to be the most optimistic girl on the planet. You kept true to your name. But, ever since I died, you haven't been happy. You've been looking at the world from a bleak perspective." She rolled her eyes.

"When I was optimistic, bad things always happened when I didn't expect. Now, I'm prepared for the bad things." He nodded.

"Yes, but you don't know how to expect the good things. That's one of the things I loved about you the most." He held out his hand, clenched as if holding something. "You always took good things like you were expecting them, and you were so happy about them, but now, when good things happen, you don't know how to react. But, if you had love, then you'd remember how to accept good things." He opened his hand, and there was a yellow rose. She smiled as she took it in her hand.

"My favorite flower. How do you expect me to let you go when you keep being so wonderful?" He smiled.

"I was kind of hoping that if I made you happy enough, then you'd be able to let go. But, maybe, I should show you what your life would be like if you _did_ let me go." Suddenly, the scene changed. They were slightly transparent and hovering over a Bey Stadium, with an intense battle going on, between Hope and Kyoya.

"GO PERIDOT LEONESS!"

"GO FANG LEONE!" The two Beys, one lime green, yellow, and brown, one emerald green, clashed against each other in an intense fight, with both Beys nearly out of energy. Solid Hope smirked at him, while Transparent Hope looked confused.

"What's going on?" Isi smiled and brought his free hand to his lips.

"Sh, just watch." The two Beys clashed, and flew out of the stadium. Solid Hope smirked as she caught Peridot Leoness.

"Looks like I still can't beat you, only tie with you." Kyoya smirked as he caught Fang Leone.

"I'm still better than you. You never managed to beat Ginga." She glared at him.

"You only won because it was a Battle Royal!" He laughed.

"I still won! That's all that counts." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"You sound like a cheater." Transparent Hope gave Isi a confused look.

"I still don't get why we're here." Isi smiled at her.

"You'll see." Kyoya walked over to Solid Hope after putting Leone away, smirking.

"I don't cheat. I used to, but I wouldn't anymore. Cheating takes all the fun out of battle now." She gave him a glance, a playful smile on her face as she walked towards him.

"I suppose you're right about that." His smirk was still on his face as he leaned in towards Solid Hope, who fully accepted the kiss she received. Transparent Hope shouted, freaking out.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Suddenly, they were back in Isi's old house. She glared at him. "What the hell was that?!" He laughed.

"The future. And honestly, I like it because of how happy you are. And it's gonna happen." She shook her head vigorously.

"There's no way in Hell becoming _Heaven_ that I would ever even kiss Kyoya, let alone fall in love with him!" Isi sighed.

"You fight with him more than you fight with anyone else. You act angrier, more irritated, and much more embarrassed around him." She nodded angrily.

"Yeah, that's because I hate him, and nothing in my good, Christian nature can change that!" Isi gave her a sad smile.

"And you love him." She shook her head.

"No I _don't_! God, I wouldn't kiss him if he suddenly turned into the nicest guy on the planet!" Isi sighed.

"Come on." He pulled her by her hand a little, towards the door. "There's something you need to see." She raised an eyebrow.

"We're not gonna transport there?" Isi shook his head.

"No, there's something more important that you need to see just outside the door." He led her outside, and she was shocked at what she saw.

"Where the hell are we?!" Outside, there was a multitude of things, but they weren't on solid ground. They were floating in what seemed like empty space, except it wasn't empty. There was a cross, a large version of Peridot Leoness, a small version of the B-Pit, a small version of her house/her dad's hardware store with one room sticking out quite a bit, a small ocean, a sun, various foods, animals, trees, flowers, and many other things. There were also lights dancing around. Isi smiled at her.

"We're in your heart. This is everything you love." She was amazed.

"Everything I love? So, that tiny B-Pit-"

"Represents how you love Madoka as a friend. And that small version of your house shows your love for your family, but if you'll notice, Jamie's room is a lot bigger than everything else in the house. And you see things like sunshine, all the flora and fauna you love, all of it in your heart." The shock on her face didn't go away.

"But it's all so small." He nodded.

"Yeah, it is, and this is why." He turned her around, showing her the house, which was much bigger than it would be in reality. "This represents me, but look at what's it's doing." She shook her head.

"I don't see it doing anything. It's just sitting there." Isi gave her a sad smile.

"Look at the lights." She looked at a happy looking bright yellow light. It floated past her face, but as soon as it touched the house, it turned to a depressing blue. A happy, little orange light touched the house, and it turned to red. She looked at Isi.

"What's going on?" He pointed at a pale purple light.

"Those lights are your emotions, different ones generated by different things. Those yellow lights represent your happiness, generally generated when Jamie or Madoka are around, but as soon as you think about me, they hit the house, and turn to that depressing shade of blue. That's sadness. Those orange lights are your confidence, which usually come out when you're in a Bey Battle, and they turn into the red light of pride, or they turn into green doubt." The purple light hit the house and turned to a gray light. "Those purple ones are your kibō, and when they hit the house, they become gray despair." He smiled as a pink light floated by. "Those pink ones are your love." His smile turned into a sad frown as it neared the house. "But, as soon as they touch the house, they become black hate." The pink light turned black. Hope shook her head.

"Well, if they're just touching the house, then it's only the ones that happen to go over there, right?" He shook his head.

"They're being drawn there. Whatever has the strongest emotional pull is what they'll go towards. Even if that weren't the case, it's still the biggest thing in your heart, and makes it hard for those lights to not hit it. Because you refuse to let go and be happy, your happiness turns to sadness. Because you didn't want to truly love anyone other than me, your love turns to hate. Everything becomes negative. If you only have negative emotions, then it'll destroy you from the inside out." He turned her and looked at her dead in the eyes. "Hope, I don't want you to destroy yourself. I want you to be happy. Just let me go!" She teared up again.

"But then what will there be left?" He made a motion to everything with his free arm.

"This! You'll have all of this, and it can grow! It can heal your heart, instead of destroying it like I am." He closed his hand, then opened it up again, holding it out to Hope for her to see. "And the first step is to take this." She was confused.

"A box of matches?" Isi nodded.

"To destroy the house." Her eyes widened, and she freaked out.

"What?! You want me to set that on fire?! That's practically like setting you on fire!" He nodded.

"I know, but it's taking up too much room and hurting everything else. But it's something that you have to do." She looked uncertain.

"But, I don't want to forget you." He shook his head.

"You won't forget me. I'll always be in your heart, just in a different way. Letting go means being okay with what happened, and moving on. Holding on to something is letting it hold you back. Don't let me hold you back. That's the last thing I want to do to you." She looked at the matches, then at his face, and kept going back and forth between the two. "Please, take the matches, and let it burn." She sighed as she took the matches. She stuck one against the box and, with a look of remorse in her eyes, threw it at the house, which instantly flames up.

"Good-bye." Isi smiled at her.

"You let go of my hand." He wiggled it at her. She laughed a little.

"I guess I did." Her eyes were sad. "See you in Heaven then?" He nodded, slowly breaking apart into glimmering particles.

"See you there. Don't come for another sixty to seventy years!" He fully disappeared, scattering around. A single tear fell from Hope's eye as she turned around, looking at the house, burning down. She watched until the flames left, leaving behind only a pile of ash that slowly dissipated. She walked, or more so, floated, over to the one thing that had remained, smiling as she picked it up. It was the picture of her and Isi at the park. She sighed as she let it go, letting it float to its own place in her heart.

"Good-bye Isi."

**The Next Day**

"What the hell do you want?" Kyoya was standing in front of Hope, who had come to the warehouse unannounced. She looked a bit embarrassed.

"It's hard to explain. You see, I know we've been rivals for a long time, and completely hated each other, and that stuff, but you see…" She couldn't finish. Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"Madoka didn't get you with the whole 'we should all be friends' speech, did she? Or Ginga?" Hope shook her head.

"No, that's not what happened, it's just," she gave up trying to explain, "oh, what the hell?!" She grabbed him by his jacket and kissed a very surprised Kyoya.

**Song Of Hope: This is about how long I expect your stories to be if you choose to enter my Challenge.**

*** For the first one, that's the traditional greeting in Japan for people you have just met. However, it's "_Yorokishiko onegai shimasu_". Shimau is what you add at the end of something to indicate you made a mistake.**

*** The second one is for that word. it's the Japanese word for Hope, but it's stated as such because this is like a direct translation of Japanese, and in Japanese, her name would be "Hopu" and not that word, so to differentiate them from each other, I used the Japanese word instead.**


End file.
